To Hear Him Sing
by kellyH
Summary: Sarah raises Toby on stories from her adventure in the Labyrinth. Toby is sympathetic towards Jareth, and defends him in an argument against Sarah. The Goblin King himself gets called in to settle it.


**To Hear Him Sing**

* * *

I do not hold any rights to Labyrinth. I merely borrowing characters from the movie/manga/book and playing around with them. No money is being made from this.

* * *

In Jareth's kingdom there was an abnormally small Goblin with a horn for a nose. This Goblin stood out, not for her distinct face, but her great admiration of her master. She was dedicated to Jareth more than any other Goblin of her kind, so it was no surprise to anyone that she hated Sarah Williams with utter contempt. It was even said that she hated the girl more than Jareth did himself.

The Goblin, who was named Rhinelga, had blamed Sarah for being the one who destroyed her master. Sarah had left her master an empty shell, one who never sang, and never did anything but sit on his throne in the greatest of depressions.

Since Jareth had no urges for revenge, Rhinelga decided to take it upon herself. She felt she had a duty to be the one to seek revenge for all the wrongs that Sarah Williams had done to him. Rhinelga would be the strength which he now lacked.

It is quite known that Goblins are not highly intelligent, but people tend to underestimate their other gifts. They can excel at either: strength, maliciousness, or corruption. Rhinelga's gift was maliciousness, and the more malicious she felt, the more her power grew. It was with this gift of maliciousness that she was highly specialized to take on the task of revenge of her most beloved King.

Rhinelga vowed that she would make her King happy once more -- she would hear him sing again, whether she had to take her last breath to do so.

Rhinelga started her obsessive observation over Sarah Williams. She watched day and night for a weakness to appear, ready to attack when that advantage became known to her. Rhinelga, not knowing what companionate love was, did not notice this between the siblings for sometime. So she did not think of it being a weakness until the siblings had a small spat over a fairy tale.

Toby had shown sympathy to the villain of a story, while Sarah adamantly tried to reason that the villain deserved what he got because of the choices that he made. It set off a little argument, but in the end they had forgiven each other and went on with their life.

It was from this little spat, that a plan was formed in Rhinelga's mind.

Rhinelga would come to the boy while he slept. Creeping into his room, she would stand by the head of his bed, and place her deformed fingers onto him. Lowering her head to his ear, she would whisper stories about her master. She told him about the great adventures that he endured, and the brilliant ways in which he ruled. She informed Toby of how great her master was, and the conquest that proved this. Night and after night she would come to the little boy and told more stories about her King. She knew that every word she said to Toby, he would in return, dream about all night long.

After telling him the tales of her King's greatness, she began telling him of how he longed for an heir. He, being the one Jareth was searching for, but his sister had taken that away from him. She kept repeating this thought in his mind over and over.

Months had gone by and Rhinelga decided that she needed to go further with her plan. Toby still hadn't really reacted to Sarah in the way that Rhinelga hoped. He still never fought with his sister, nor did he look at his sister in distrust like she hoped he would. So she came to him on night to show him the memory she had of him as a child. She came to him with the memory of the night Sarah wished him away. She showed him Sarah, younger and in her early teens, holding him high above her, while yelling for the Goblin King to take him away. This memory she kept repeating to him all night long.

The next night when she came to Toby, she showed him the fondness that her King displayed upon him after taking him. She showed him: Jareth holding him, Jareth playing games to make him laugh, Jareth singing to him to make him stop crying, and even her Master's willingness to give Toby his name.

To Rhinelga's delight Toby began to question Sarah, and her true involvement in him being taken away. She didn't seem prepared for this, and Rhinelga rightly assumed that Sarah had never told Toby that it had been _she_ that wished him away. She tried to justify her actions, but it was clear that the child was beginning to distrust his sister. When Sarah asked how he remembered this, the boy just shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

Rhinelga really didn't need to return to the boy, her plan was starting to take effect, but she found she was delighted to boast about her King. In the night she was happy to think of her King as he once was, and during the day she took great glee over the child's growing distrust toward his sister. Rhinelga hadn't been this happy with hope for such a long time.

It didn't take long for the boy to become violent (one of the goals Rhinelga had hoped to happen). The boy had stopped talking to his sister, but she kept insisting for him to listen to her. At one point Sarah had cornered the boy, trying to reason with him to speak to her, when he suddenly pushed at her chest. She being caught off guard by his violent nature, and the unexpected strength he had, stumbled backward and into the wall.

It took her a moment to regain herself before she ran after Toby, who had escaped quickly to his room. Sarah beat on the door, and demanded that he unlock it, but Toby would not, he didn't even bother answering her.

For his actions that night, Toby was grounded, forced to remain in his room for a week, or until he apologized, he never did the latter. Rhinelga could not have been happier.

It would be weeks later that Sarah came back to the house to watch over him while the parents were out, and Rhinelga had been busy that night with a demanding King. She was not even aware that Sarah was with the boy until she finally had her King settled in bed. It was in pure curiosity that she chose to look on at the boy, and her droopy ears perked up when she saw that they were in the middle of fight.

The boy was no longer silent, and he was screaming with the full force of his lungs. Rhinelga could hardly hear anything that was being said as Sarah tried to yell over his shrieks. She smirked at the scene; her top teeth showing crocked black teeth as she tried to pay attention to what was being said.

At one point Sarah yelled out, "Toby, do you think I would let any harm come to you? I had to save you from him. He would have turned you into a Goblin!" Toby's continual shrieks were not distinct to Rhinelga as she focused on what Sarah was saying to him. "If I were to say that I wish the Goblins would come and take you away right now, I could never live with myself!"

Rhinelga couldn't believe it, the words had been said, and it did not matter if she didn't mean it – the words had been said!

Gathering her fellow comrades, they rushed without question to collect the child – after all it had been long time since they last played this game.

Sarah's screams of anger quickly turned to horror as the room fell into darkness. She kept screaming out, "No, I didn't say it!" over and over, but it was too late, Toby was already gone.

When Jareth appeared in front of her, acting like his depression had never happened, he did not speak to her. Jareth just stood there with a smug smile as she vented her outrage. He appeared to be listening to her, but in fact he was just savoring the moment of her downfall.

"The words have been said, Sarah. You should have been more careful of what you say if you didn't want him to be taken away." He finally said when he grew bored of her weak verbal attacks.

"I didn't ask him to be taken away . . . I was just telling him . . . " Sarah vented, unable to say a proper sentence because of her frustration. Jareth looked at her body vibrating with rage, her fist clutched together at her side like she is trying to control the urge to hit him. He took great amusement over her frustrations, knowing that he finally had her trapped again.

His hand swept behind him, and the living room wall dissolved and was replaced with a gateway to his kingdom.

Jareth took a few steps backwards, urging her to follow with his words, "If you want your brother back, you will find him within my castle." He beckoned her with his fingers, but she refused to move, so he added, "Do you not want to see your brother again?"

Sarah was hesitant at first, but then she slowly stepped forward as her eyes lock onto Jareth's. They were gleaming with pure hatred.

Once she was through, he gave her the normal time allotted like before, and disappeared before she could say another word.

Despite being older, Sarah stamped her foot in frustration before stomping off to save her brother once again.

Sarah made her way quickly into the Labyrinth, all by herself this time, or it least she thought she was alone. She did not know that she was being followed by Rhinelga, who was careful to keep a fair distance so she would not be heard or seen.

She couldn't have been in the Labyrinth for more than hour before a loud clap came suddenly from behind Rhinelga. The Goblin had just managed to hide behind a wall before Sarah came rushing back from a corner she had just turned.

"Who's there?"

Her answer was met with silence, and Sarah walked in the direction the noise came from. She walked until the culprit showed himself.

"How are you finding my Labyrinth this time around?" Jareth smiled lightly at her, and spoke to her in such a light tone that one would think that he was asking out of concern.

"I'm in no mood to play your games, Jareth. I have a Labyrinth to defeat . . . again." She said to display her challenging nature, and to verbalize her lack of fear of him. If Jareth was insulted by her words, he did not show it, instead his smile widened.

"Oh, but you are playing my games, Sarah. This is after all my Labyrinth." He laughed as he said this.

Rhinelga, who still remained hidden behind the wall, stifled her automatic laughter.

Sarah was not able to hide her frustration from Jareth, despite turning her head to hide her face from him. She sighed heavily and then asked, "What do you want?" She wanted to get to the point of why he was here, for she wanted this conversation to end to quickly.

"I'm glad that you asked that," replied Jareth. He started to walk forward, closing the distance between them. "I have come to make you a compromise."

"A compromise?" She wearily asked.

Rhinelga began to stir restlessly from her master's idea of compromise. Sarah had not really gone that far into the Labyrinth and already her master was requesting a compromise. She wondered if her master was truly afraid that he may lose again to her.

"Yes, I want you to be willing to give something in return for your brother."

"And that would be?" Sarah asked sourly, as if she didn't believe that Jareth would easily let her brother go without any hardship on her part.

There was a moment of silence before Jareth replied in a firm voice, "I want the chance to woo you. If you accept my attentions, then I will let your brother go."

Sarah looked at him with complete shock, unable to answer properly, her mouth opened and closed rapidly without a word passing through. Then she suddenly burst into laughing than halted her laugher to gage his reaction (which was a look of seriousness), before laughing again.

"Fine!" He shouted through gritted teeth and vanished before her eyes. Despite his body not being there, his parting threats hang in the air as he left, "Go through my Labyrinth, but this time I will make you do it alone!"

Sarah was quiet after he left, and she couldn't help but be confused from the encounter. It took her a moment to collect herself before starting to walk again.

Sarah continued through the Labyrinth, although at a much slower pace. Sarah walked with her head down, rather than watching where she is going, she even past a vase-like statue twice without even taking notice of it.

As Rhinelga passed by the statue the second time, she began to lightly chuckle and though to herself, "Perhaps my Master is not weakening by asking for a compromise! His devious nature had even fooled me! Look how distracted she is!"

After several minutes of watching Sarah walk with her head down Rhinelga's ears twitch when she heard a noise in the distance. It was a soft sound of glass rolling upon stone, and when she turned her head to the sound of the noise she immediately recognized it as one of Jareth's crystal balls.

Jumping out of sight again, she hid behind the vase statue just as Sarah turned to look.

The ball stopped moving when Sarah noticed it, and it just remained there for a short moment before it began to roll in another direction. Sarah immediately followed it without hesitation, and she nearly had to run in order to keep up with it.

The crystal ball directed them to Jareth, who waited for Sarah at the end of a long path. He leaned against the stone wall, and his head tilted down as he looked at his riding crop. His fingers played with the crop's handle and she could see even from this distance, that he looked bored.

Sarah immediately spoke as soon as she saw him. "Why do you wish to woo me? What would you gain by it?" She had to yell out to him in order for him to hear her. Her voice was sharp from yelling, and not from any anger she felt, for she felt no anger just curiosity.

Jareth looked up at her with a face devoid of expression. His eyes appeared calculating as he looked up at her. "Companionship," He simple said.

"Companionship," She repeated with disbelief. She waited for him to elaborate on what he meant by this, and she didn't have to wait for long.

"Yes, I have found my equal. I can no longer live in this meticulous existence since finding what I have desired. I want it, and I deserve it." He looked at her in such a way that Sarah knew he meant her. Sarah wanted to laugh at this, but she couldn't help feel absolutely pity that he had become so pathetic in her eyes. Did he not see how she truly felt about him?

Rhinelga, who was listening with bated breath, trembled with agony over her Master's confession that he felt he was living in a meticulous existence. She felt she must have been a terrible servant to have disappointed him in such a manner. In order to save her sanity, she thought to herself that perhaps her master was just playing games again . . . perhaps he really didn't mean it.

"You think you deserve companionship?" asked Sarah. She asked this only when she was sure she wouldn't break out in laughter.

"Whether or not you believe it, I know I do deserve a chance." He told her as he faded away again.

The next time that he appeared before her it had been nearly four hours since her arrival. Jareth didn't try to surprise her with tricks this time. Instead, he appeared before her garbed in a new outfit.

Again it was she that spoke first. "You claim that I'm your equal, and yet you have to resort to blackmailing me into being your companion. Do you think that this is anyway to start out a relationship?" Sarah was trying to be rational with him, even though she longed to just lash out at him. "Why didn't you just ask me instead of stealing my brother?"

"You forget, Sarah, that it was you that asked for the child to be taken." He was quick to point out. "It should also be known that I could never communicate with you unless you asked for me. That, I'm afraid, you never did."

"I didn't ask for him to be taken!" She said through clenched teeth. Taking a deep breath, Sarah tried to keep rational. "Why do you want companionship? We would only make each other miserable."

"Well, I hoped through this companionship that one day you would give me a child."

A startled huff escaped her lips as she looked at him in disbelief. Even Rhinelga could do nothing but just watch with her mouth hanging low.

"One child in exchange for another." He smiled coyly at her, and disappeared without hearing Sarah's angered shouts.

Hardly an hour went by before Jareth was once again in her company. She had just climbed a steep hill, and she was battling with gaining back her breath when he came before her.

"If you have any sensitive issues of having a child out of wedlock, perhaps we could marry first? Wouldn't you like to become my Queen?"

Sarah just looked at him with frustrated impatience and rolled her eyes as she continued to walk by him. Jareth turned to follow her, acting like a puppy dog in Rhinelga's eyes. The tiny Goblin was concerned for her Master's sanity again. Never before had she seen her Master allow anyone just to walk away without his express consent.

"Have you no answer for me?" He called out to her as she continued to keep her back to him.

"Jareth, even if you . . . " She stopped speaking, and closed her eyes. She shook her head rapidly back and forth while she told him, "No, I can't answer you. I won't play this kind of game with you."

"And what game is that, Sarah?" Jareth asked her. His expression was serious. He was offended by her rejection of his demands, and Rhinelga could see it clearly on his face. Rhinelga could not deny that he meant everything that he had been saying to Sarah, and that he truly did want to be with this offending excuse of a being.

"You're just trying to distract me." Sarah snorted. Rhinelga truly hoped that this was so, although she knew that it wasn't.

Sarah picked up her pace until Jareth's arm came around her stomach and stopped her from going any further. Sarah cried out in outrage as she tried to wiggle out from his grip, but she was trapped against his body. " Let me go!"

"That is it, I cannot. I can't until you give me a reason that you would deny me my request."

"Fine! You want an explanation!" She huffed as she continued to try to get his arm off of her. "I think you are spoiled, self-centered, and who is not able to grow up! I see you as a person that would never do anything for anybody unless it benefited you. I find it maddening that you would think that I would want to be involved with you!"

"Have you finished?" Was his only reply.

"No, I could go on and on!" She replied as she finally wiggled out from his slacking grip. She turned toward him, keeping an arm's distance between them. "Why would you think that I would want to live in this world-"

"I don't want to be here either. It least we can agree on that." He interrupted her rant with his raised voice.

Rhinelga didn't want to hear anymore. She couldn't understand why her Master would say such things, and why he wouldn't want to be here with his loyal subjects who obeyed his every wish. She couldn't understand what they had done to displease him so much that he would want to be away from them.

Rhinelga, so depressed by his words, slipped to the ground to weep. She wept for so long that she no longer heard the voices of her Master and the dreadful girl.

After drying her eyes and calming down, she began to work on a new plan. First the girl and her brother had to go. They had to be away to stop the influence she had on her Master, who turned out to be more powerful than she originally thought.

Using all the malicious nature she had within her (for betraying her King's wishes were the ultimate maliciousness), she willed that Sarah and Toby to be home, far and away from her Master.

A howl of rage echoed throughout the Kingdom when Jareth realized what had been done. It broke the tiny tattered heart of Rhinelga, but she felt it needed to be done for them all. She hoped that his anger would subside when she found him a proper and obedient wife, one who never dared to defy him.

For the next several days Jareth tried to find the culprit that sent Sarah home. He took his anger out on anyone that came across his path. Rhinelga wisely kept hidden.

She took refuge in her place behind his throne, knowing that Jareth didn't often look there. She was trying to formulate a plan with a girl that looked promising, when Sarah's voice called out for Jareth. She wasn't there, but her voice boomed throughout the Throne Room as she called out for him in her world.

"Jareth, I know that I might regret this one day, but since you allow my brother and me to go home . . . That you did do something without it benefiting you . . . I will be willing to give you a chance. I guess I'll be here waiting for your answer." She spoke with uncertainty but Jareth didn't seem to mind. He leaped from this throne and threw his hands into the air.

His eyes shone with triumph as he let out a loud laugh, and immediately broke into song.

Rhinelga who had longed to hear him sing once more, wept not in joy to hear her Master's song once more, but rather in sorrow. He disappeared from the room on the last note and never returned to them again.

* * *

This was done for the Labyfic Exchange on

You should check out the challenge, there were really good entries/stories that were posted there - even one by K L Morgan (which was OMG so good and funny). XD


End file.
